It's Just Body Heat
by Lia Fae Tsuruga
Summary: All she could see was snow. It fell, hard and fast, swirling around them. She felt Derek come up behind her and swear. The two stood there for a moment, shivering and staring at the scene outside. "Well." Derek began, ending the silence that had overcome them. "I think it's safe to say that there's definitely not going to be school any time soon."


_**Greetings! Before reading this fic there is a little bit of info you'll probably figure out yourself, but still need to know.**_

_**Casey and Derek are attending Queen's University.**_

_**Due to economical issues, they live together in a single apartment.**_

_**It is the dead of winter.**_

_**Now I hope that you all enjoy reading this, and if you do please leave a review and tell me your thoughts! Even if you don't, leave me one telling me what you don't like, for all constructive criticism is welcome. Thank you.**_

_**LIA**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own "**_**Life with Derek**_**"**_

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_Strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist, bringing her closer to the man behind her. He bent to kiss her, and she met him half way, her fingers threading themselves in his hair. Quickly the kiss evolved from gentle and comforting into passionate and something so much more. His kisses moved away from her mouth down her jaw and to her neck, his lips cold against her skin, and she shivered–_

_Wait. Cold?_

* * *

Her eyes parted, and Casey MacDonald was brought back into the world of the conscious. With it came the same cold that had interrupted her dream, and she shivered once more. Casey instinctively brought her blanket closer around her and rose, all traces of sleep gone as the cold sunk into her skin. She watched in silent amazement as she saw her breath turn white in the cold winter air.

_Why isn't the heater on?_ Casey thought as she padded her way to the hall. There she went to the thermostat, squinting to read the temperature displayed on the screen in the dim lighting. Minus twenty-five. Turning up the heat, Casey waited in the hall for the apartment to grow warmer. Only it didn't. There wasn't even the dull sound of the heating system coming to life underneath the walls. Only silence. Casey turned and headed for the light switch, quickly discovering that the electricity was out as well.

As she made this realization Derek entered the hall, his teeth chattering. "W-why is it so cold?" he demanded, drawing his blanket closer around him. Casey blushed, suddenly remembering the dream she had before she had been rudely awoken.

"The power's down." She replied, hoping that the dim lighting would hide her red face. It seemed to work, however something in her voice must have given her away, because Derek was looking at her strangely. Casey swallowed.

Suddenly remembering something the weatherman had said earlier in the week, Casey went to her room and looked outside her window. Sure enough, all she could see was snow. It fell, hard and fast, swirling around them. She felt Derek come up behind her and swear. The two stood there for a moment, shivering and staring at the scene outside.

"Well." Derek began, ending the silence that had overcome them. "I think it's safe to say that there's definitely not going to be school any time soon."

Casey shot him a look that said she was far from amused, and headed towards her closet, rummaging past clothing and shoes until she found what she needed. She came up with matches, a box filled with candles, and a flashlight with extra batteries.

"Well prepared, Princess." Derek commented before heading to his own room. When he came out, he headed to the living room where Casey stood, setting a few candles around the room.

Casey raised an eyebrow when she saw the items in his hands and the smug look on his face.

"Now _this_," Derek motioned towards the torch and several logs of wood in his hands "Will definitely warm the apartment up." With that statement made, Derek headed towards the empty fireplace and settled the logs inside, effectively using the torch to start a warm fire. He sat down beside it, practically reveling in the warmth it offered.

Casey joined him a moment later, her eyes twinkling in the light of the fire.

They sat for a long time, both wrapped in their respective blankets and remaining silent. Even with the fire, full warmth continued to elude them. Casey shivered once more.

Derek saw this, and using an example he saw from an old movie, extended his arm towards her. Casey looked at him quizzically, her blue eyes marred with confusion. "Come on, we'll get warm faster if we share body heat." Derek explained when she didn't move right away.

After a moment's hesitation, Casey obliged, curling up against Derek as he wrapped them both in his blanket. Casey indeed got warmer, however she also became keenly aware of the position she was in, sitting curled up between Derek's legs. For her sanity and peace of mind, she continued to stress that it was just to preserve body heat.

Derek, for his part, wondered if it were possible for a heart to literally break out of a ribcage. He caught a whiff of lingering perfume on her skin, and felt his stomach give belly flops–ahem, _manly_, belly flops.

He prayed to any and all deities above that they would have mercy and have Casey become oblivious to the wild beating of his heart. Suddenly he was wondering what had compelled him to ask her to share body heat. Derek wasn't complaining, per se, however despite the comfort her presence brought him, it brought himself pain to know that even when they were in such close proximity, she did not belong to him.

He could kiss her, right there and then. All he had to do was move his head and plant his lips atop hers, and kiss her with the yearning he had hidden away for far too long–_No. Derek, control yourself!_ His mind–the more rational part of it–warned. _Don't do something you're going to regret. _

Derek sighed and unconsciously brought his head down on Casey's neck, resting his chin in that juncture between neck and shoulder as he stared at the fireplace. _It's just to preserve body heat,_ he thought, excusing his actions as nothing more than a method of survival. For the benefit of whom he thought it was another question altogether.

If only he knew the way Casey's own heart raced at the proximity of him, the way she wished she could cuddle up to him like this every night when she went to bed, and wake up again in his arms the next morning.

Yet the two still sat silent, each lost in thoughts of the other, and continually denying that the warmth they were feeling was anything more than of their shared body heat.

" . . . Derek," Casey whispered, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" Was the muttered response.

"I'm cold." _Smooth, Casey. Very suave._

His mouth split into an incredulous grin. "I think that applies for the two of us, in case you haven't noticed."

Casey smiled as well, though her face had become a few shades darker than it had been previous.

" . . . Casey?" Derek began.

"Mmm hmm?"

"Do you miss Nora and George?"

"Yeah . . . Sometimes."

Derek raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised at this response. "Only sometimes?" He had been expecting her to miss them dearly, because she was more attached to her mother and siblings than he was to his father and everyone else. Yet she never ceased to surprise him.

"Well . . . for the past few years the house has been filled with noise and pranks and bickering about who gets to use the bathroom first–"

"–And that isn't the same now?" Derek asked with a smirk. Both of them knew very well that despite the fact that they were becoming adults soon, they still fought continuously over the smallest of things, bathroom privileges included.

"Yes, I suppose. But it's different, too. There's a lot less noise with just the two of us." Derek had to agree with that. "And it's kind of nice." The next words escaped Casey's mouth before she had the chance to edit them. "Sometimes, I think about how we live, and it kind of reminds me of a - " Her eyes widened and her body stiffened, suddenly realizing what it was she was about to say. Derek's breath caught in his throat.

" . . . Like a married couple." Derek finished for her. Casey nodded. "I suppose that is what it seems like . . . but you'd make a terrible wife."

Casey whipped her head around to face him. "I beg your pardon? I would _not_ make a terrible wife!"

Derek raised her head from the comfortable position on her neck, and began to name her habits, counting them off with his fingers. "You nag a lot, you fight a lot, you take far too long in the bathroom in the morning–"

"–I do not _nag_–" Seemingly deaf for the moment, he didn't hear her and continued.

"–When you wake up you look like you went through battle, you suck at giving off body heat, and you're a bad kisser." Derek finished with a flourish.

"It's physically impossible to 'suck' at giving off body heat, because heat just radiates off the body without the permission or control of the person in question!" Casey huffed. Yet even so she couldn't help but let a smile erupt on her face. This was so familiar, so very much _them_ that it relieved her from the tension that had formerly hovered over the apartment. A sudden thought occurred to her.

"How would you know that I'm a bad kisser?" Casey retorted, looking up at him challengingly.

Derek snorted. "Please, I can spot a bad kisser from a good kisser in an instant. It's just in the way you eat. Works best when you're eating a banana." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Casey smacked his arm, her face turning a becoming shade of red.

_Well. Body heat seemed to be working if she was able to blush that much in one sitting._

"And by _that_ you can dictate how good of a kisser I am." She scoffed, trying, and failing, to play off his suggestive comment as nothing more than a small speck of dust on the conversation at hand.

"It is a method tried and true. Every single girl I've kissed has reflected their ability to eat with their capabilities in the kissing arena perfectly. Sadly it took me a few tries with messy test subjects to make the connection." He made a face, shuddering at the memory of those women. It was not the most pleasant experience of his life.

Casey couldn't help but let the giggle escape her mouth, imagining Derek making the exact face he was making now as he kissed another girl. It was far from nice, sure, but she had to admit it was pretty comical.

Derek continued, having moved on from his reminiscence of a time that should be kept buried. "And considering I eat with you every day, I'm pretty sure I have a good idea exactly how good-or-bad of a kisser you are." Derek teased, tapping his finger on her nose just to make her angry. How easy it was for him to play the role of the bully, continually teasing her until her face turned that exact shade of red it was now/

Upon his comment on her kissing capabilities, Casey's competitive side reared its head, giving her confidence she didn't necessarily have. "Oh really? Then please enlighten me. What kind of a kisser am I?" Casey challenged, daring him to try and guess her kissing habits.

"You're clumsy and generally unpracticed, due to those pathetic monkeys you had dated in the past."

Casey's mouth dropped, disbelieving. "One of those 'pathetic monkeys' happens to be your _friend_–"

"–You initially give the illusion that you like those sickeningly sweet types of kisses, because you want to be a princess, and princesses don't kiss rough." Derek continued, making a face as he recalled the countless times he had seen her kiss previous men. All of them had been as he had described. Yet as he continued his teasing lessened, and he was recounting the rest of his analysis with unnerving accuracy.

"But you like to border on the side of dangerous. When you kiss, you like to use a little tongue, no? You don't want to be drowned, but you want to be able to dance with the tongue of the person you're kissing as skillfully as you can dance using your legs. You like to gently nip at their lip, taking the bottom one between your lips and suckling, just bordering on erotic." Casey sat, stunned into silence at his increasingly accurate description, feeling very much like an open book in his lap.

"Sure, you like those sweet, sugar-mountain-with-caramel-and-honey-on-top type of kisses once in awhile, because they're decent and they're safe." Derek's voice grew quieter as he continued, until he was practically whispering the end. "The truth is that you really want to be kissed by someone who isn't afraid of breaking you like you're some kind of porcelain doll. You want to be kissed by someone who knows what he wants, and isn't afraid of going after it, yet when the need calls, knows how to treat you like the woman you are. You want someone like . . ." He couldn't finish the rest of his sentence, and let his voice hang.

While he had been speaking, Derek had been staring at the fire in front of them, but now that he had finished, he turned to glance at the woman in his arms. Her blue eyes stared back at him, the light of the crackling fire reflecting in them and suddenly reminding him of an ocean; an ocean that he would happily drown in, if he were permitted to do so.

He stared at her, and she at he, neither speaking. When she finally did, it was with a voice so quiet that were it not for their close proximity, Derek wouldn't have heard it.

" . . . Someone like you."

Her breath hitched when Derek leaned forward and placed his lips atop hers, asking, pleading, coaxing her to respond. It took only a moment for her to process what was happening and return the kiss. She turned in Derek's lap until she was straddling his waist, pouring all of the longing she had been hiding for far too long into the kiss, her hands curling themselves in his hair.

With the action came relief, happiness, elation, and anger all at once. For how long had they denied themselves this? For how long had they been yearning for each other, yet been too chicken to do what a blizzard had all but forced them to do?

True to the analysis, Casey licked his bottom lip, and in response his own came out and the two met. After many moments the two parted, brown meeting blue as they stared at each other, their gazes finally releasing what they had been carefully hiding over the past four years.

" . . . I was right." Derek whispered against her lips, suckling on the bottom one and gently holding it between his teeth.

"About what?"

"You're unpracticed." At this Casey gave an affronted sound of annoyance and tugged at his hair with more force than necessary. Derek hid his pain well, and pressed his lips towards hers again. "I'll fix that."

And that he did. The next morning the two would wake up to find themselves on the couch, wrapped around each other after a night of kisses and confessions. The fire had dwindled down again, however the blizzard raged on. It appeared that there wasn't going to be school for a rather long time. And somehow, Casey found it in herself not to care one bit. If feeling guilty, all she was going to say was that she was studying the effectiveness of body heat.

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_**And that marks the end of this oneshot. Thank you for reading, I do hope that you enjoyed it! If you did, please leave a review telling me your thoughts, or even if you didn't, still leave me your thoughts in a review so I can improve. Thank you once again!**_

_**LIA**_


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